Void system for concrete with aggregate having projecting members

ABSTRACT

An aggregate for concrete has an element provided with watertight walls defining a void, and a plurality of members arranged spaced about the void defining element. These members may be mounted directly on the element, or on a carrier, such as a wire mesh, arranged about the element.

United States Patent 1191 Dunn, Jr. Feb. 4, 1975 [5 VOID SYSTEM FOR CONCRETE WITH 2,731,824 1/1956 Hadley 52/334 AGGREGATE HAVING PROJECTING 314881909 1/1970 52/577 MEMBERS 3,596,421 8/1971 Mlller 52/334 3,721,059 3/1973 Reynolds 52/577 [75] Inventor: Edward D. Dunn, Jr., Albany, Ga. FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS [73] Assigneel Versatile smlctures, InwrPOraled, 538,089 3/1922 France 52/382 Leary, 606,819 12/1934 Germany 52/577 [22] Filed: Dec. 29,1972 P E H C S h I d rimary xaminer enry ut er an [21] Appl- 319,739 Attorney, Agent, or FirmClarence A. OBrien;

Harvey B. Jacobson [52] US. Cl 52/659, 52/334, 52/382 [51] Int. Cl. E04c 5/01 57 ABSTRACT [58] Field of Search 52/334,5527/%I779, 635892, An aggregate for Concrete has an element providedwith watertight walls defining a void, and a plurality of bers arranged spaced about the void defining ele- [56] References Cited mem ment. These members may be mounted d1rectly on the UNITED STATES PATENTS element, or on a carrier, such as a wire mesh, arl,065,32l 6/1913 Thomson 52/659 ranged about the element. 1,477,520 12/1923 Pittman... 52/576 2,016,616 10/1935 Schaub 1. 52/334 1 Clalm, l3 Drawmg Flgllres PATENTED FEB 4 I975 SHEET 10F 2 VOID SYSTEM FOR CONCRETE WITH AGGREGATE HAVING PROJECTING MEMBERS CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This is related to my commonly owned, copending application Ser. No. 221,232, filed .Ian. 27, 1972.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates generally to aggregate for concrete, and particularly to an aggregate forming a watertight void.

2. Description of the Prior Art It has long been known that hollow bodies may be substituted for natural aggregate in concrete. Examples of prior proposals may be found in US. Pat. Nos. 868,762 and 1,369,794. These hollow bodies are advantageous because they make it possible to provide a lighter and stronger concrete construction than results from the use of natural aggregate.

My aforementioned copending application Ser. No. 221,232 discloses the use of a carrier provided with a plurality of emanating members or fingers. The carrier may be mounted on a suitable support to form an aggregate, or it may itself form the aggregate in cooperation with the emanating members.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an aggregate for concrete which is provided with members emanating from a body, or element, having water-tight, or water-impermeable walls defining a void.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an aggregate for concrete which has a carrier mounting members about a void defining body.

These and other objects are achieved according to the present invention by providing an aggregate comprising an element having water-tight walls defining a void, and a plurality of members arranged spaced about the element.

Advantageously, a carrier, such as a wire mesh, is employed for mounting the member about the element. The member may be pieces of wire connected to the mesh as by twisting.

Alternatively, a continuous wire may be attached at spaced portions either to the element or to a carrier strip, with portions of the wire between the spaced points arranged for forming the members.

Still further, the element may be constructed from a foamed material, and the members formed by rods tied together within the element.

At least one member of an aggregate according to the present invention is desirably provided with structure for enabling the aggregate to be attached to other aggregate and form a grid.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing one embodiment of aggregate according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken generally along the line 22 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a schematic, sectional view showing aggregate according to FIGS. 1 and 2 embedded in a cementitious material.

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view, partly cut away and in section, showing another embodiment of aggreagate according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken generally along the line 5-5 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a side elevational view, partly cut away and in section, showing yet another embodiment of aggregate according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a side elevational view, partly cut away and in-section, showing still another embodiment of aggregate according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a carrier mounted element system according to the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary, side elevational view showing the carrier of FIG. 8 wrapped around a cylindrical body.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken generally along the line 10-10 of FIG. 9.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing a carrier according to the present invention provided with element forming tabs.

FIG. 12 is a fragmentary, front elevational view partly in section, showing a grid of aggregate according to the present invention arranged in a mold.

FIG. 13 is a fragmentary, sectional view showing a grid of aggregate according to the present invention embedded in a cementitious material. I

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIGS. 1 to 3 of the drawings disclose an aggregate 10 according to the present invention having an element 12, illustrated as a hollow metallic, watertight cube, surrounded--byfft wire mesh 14, of conventional construction, for'mounting "a plurality of wires 16, connected to mesh 14 as by twisting, in spaced relationship about element 12. It is to be understood that element 12 may haveother shapes and be constructed from other materials than as is shown in the drawings. At least one wire 16 is advantageously provided with a loop 18 arranged for tying aggregate 10 to other aggregate and to conventional concrete reinforcing structure. FIG. 3 of the drawings shows a plurality of untied aggregate l0 embedded in cement, and the like.

Referring now to FIGS. 4 and 5 of the drawings, an aggregate 22 is shown which is constructed as a watertight can 24 or other water-impermeable, walled container. Continuous wires 26 are attached as by, for example, welding to can 24 at spaced points 28, with portions of wires 26 between points 28 bent so as to form members emanating from can 24. Loops 30 may be formed in selected portions 29 to function in a manner similar to loop 18. It is to be understood that loops l8 and 30 may be large enough for threading reinforcing bar through them. This threading would facilitate aggregate placing by cutting down the labor entailed in wire tying. Portions 29 are preferably arranged so that there is sufficient reinforcing rod material at the periphery of aggregate 22 to assure optimum strength to the associated section of can 24. A steel strip (not shown). and the like, could be substituted for wires 26.

Further, can 24 may assume other shapes than that illustrated. 7

FIG. 6 of the drawings shows an aggregate 32 in the form of a sphere having a core 34 constructed from a foamed material, such as polyurethane, and an outer shell 36 that is advantageously metallic for facilitating attachment to it of continuous wires. Portions 38 of these wires between spaced attachment points 40 form emanating members in a manner similar to portions 29. An aggregate 42 shown in FIG. 7 of the drawings has a sphere 44 constructed entirely from a foamed material, which again may be polyurethane, with rods 46 tied together at the center of the sphere and arranged emanating therefrom.

While the embodiments of FIGS. 4 to 7 attach the emanating members directly to the element, FIGS. 8 to of the drawings show an embodiment similar to FIGS. 1 to 3 in that a carrier is used to arrange the members about an element. A longitudinally extending, planar strip 48 has a continuous wire 50 attached to it at spaced points 52. Portions 54 of wire 50 between points 52 are arranged for forming the emanating elements. Strip 48 may now be wound on a cylindrical element 56, shown as constructed from a foamed material, to form anaggregate 58. A loop 60 (FIG. 8) is provided for tying aggregate 58 as appropriate and desired. Strip 48 could also be wrapped around an element such as can 24 or conventional reinforcing rod (not shown), and the like.

A strip 62 similar to strip 48 is shown in FIG. 11 as having a plurality of tabs 64 forming the emanating members. Alternatively, tabs 64 may be, for example, stamped from the sides and one end of a cam or other metal container (not shown). The cut portions, or tabs, can be bent back to form the members. The container could then be filled with, for example, polystyrene, or a watertight body arranged inside the can to make it watertight.

Preplaced aggregate concrete is a well known method wherein aggregate is placed in a form, or mold, and a cementitious mixture is pumped into the spaces between the aggregate. FIGS. 12 and 13 of the drawings show an adaptation of aggregate according to the present invention wherein a plurality of aggregate 66 are connected together as by ties 68 to form a grid. This grid may be preplaced in a mold and tied to a wall 70 thereof and/or to reinforcing rod as by ties 72. Twisted wire may be used for ties 68, 72. A ring 74 of wire, and the like, helps form a circular void in the grid, into which is inserted a pipe 76 for pumping in a cementsand-water mixture. As this mixture, sometimes called grout, fills the interstices between aggregate 66, pipe 76 is slowly withdrawn from the void. In the known method, the circular void left by removal of pipe 76 would be filled with grout, but no reinforcing material. With the present invention, however, after pipe 76 is completely withdrawn, a reinforcing rod 78, a structure like aggregate 58, and the like, may be inserted into the void-for filling same. Preferably, aggregate according to FIGS. 8 to 10 of the drawings fills the void. This is important, because a rich mix designed for reinforcing is apt to crack if it is unreinforced.

[n all of the embodiments discussed above, the wire used to form the emanating members may be shaped to" present a cube, thus facilitating aggregate placement and assuring contiguity of all the emanating members from adjacent pieces of the aggregate. in fact, any form could be selected for the, for example, ferrous aggregate pieces by varying the lengths of the wire portions forming the emanating members. Regardless of the length of these members, their waviness at their extremities enables them to offer good reinforcement strength.

Further, when a carrier separate from the element is employed, this carrier can be made of steel or any other material, such as a plastic, impregnated textile cloth, and the like, and can assume any advantageous configuration.

As can be readily understood from the above description and the drawings, aggregate according to the pres ent invention can be of any size suitable for a particular application, thereby cutting down on the amount of cementitious mixture in any concrete structure. This large sized aggregate can make the concrete extremely light without sacrificing structural strength. Accordingly, it. is essential to the present invention that the void be watertight so as not to be filled with the cementitious material. Further, the presence of the voids in the finished concrete structure will enhance its use where low heat conductivity is desired.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. An aggregate for concrete, comprising, in combination:

a. a watertight element having watertight walls defining a watertight void, the element being a hollow cylinder provided with a cylindrical wall and a pair of end walls; and

b. a plurality of members arranged emanating outwardly from the element, the members being portions of a plurality of continuous wire attached to the walls of the cylinder, with a plurality of spaced one of the wires being arranged in substantially parallel planes about the cylindrical wall, the member forming portions being bent away from the element and provided with undulations intermediate the points of attachment of the associated wire, and at least some of the portions being further provided with a loop arranged for tying the aggregate to other aggregate and to conventional concrete reinforcing rods. 

1. An aggregate for concrete, comprising, in combination: a. a watertight element having watertight walls defining a watertight void, the element being a hollow cylinder provided with a cylindrical wall and a pair of end walls; and b. a plurality of members arranged emanating outwardly from the element, the members being portions of a plurality of continuous wire attached to the walls of the cylinder, with a plurality of spaced one of the wires being arranged in substantially parallel planes about the cylindrical wall, the member forming portions being bent away from the element and provided with undulations intermediate the points of attachment of the associated wire, and at least some of the portions being further provided with a loop arranged for tying the aggregate to other aggregate and to conventional concrete reinforcing rods. 